Larry Page and Sergey Brin: The New Establishment

AGES: 39, 39. last year’s ranking: 2. STAGE OF GLOBAL CONQUEST: Page took Google’s top spot last year, and he seems determined not to let the search giant stagnate. So far he has reorganized the management ranks, made a giant bet on social networks, and spent $12.5 billion on Motorola. Co-founder Brin has stepped back from day-to-day management of Google and now works in the search engine’s far-out Google X laboratory, researching wearable computers and driverless cars. Health watch: After Page skipped the company’s annual meeting, in June, Google announced that the C.E.O. had “lost his voice” and would also likely miss other public events. Page hasn’t offered any details on his health status but told employees via e-mail that “there is nothing seriously wrong with me.” SEEMINGLY ODD BET: An experiment to install and sell super-fast fiber-optic Internet and cable-TV service in Kansas City. SWORN ENEMY: Mark Zuckerberg. Page believes that Facebook represents a long-term threat to Google’s Web hegemony. He has invested heavily in a Facebook alternative called Google+, which the company insists is a roaring success but which looks suspiciously like a ghost town to most industry-watchers. YEAR AHEAD: ↗